Month: March 2010

Democrats Shooting for Passage of Health Care Reform This Weekend

This week, Democrats have been moving full steam ahead toward passage of health care reform legislation that would affect employers in many ways. Since the Democrats lost their supermajority in the U.S. Senate, many of their colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives want to pass the Senate’s version of health care reform so the […]

‘My Medication Makes Me Late’ Means Call Your Attorney

In yesterday’s Advisor, attorneys Tracy L. Cahill and Veronica T. von Grabow illustrated the advantages of an early call to an attorney. Today, we’ll get one more of their scenarios, a helpful checklist, and an introduction to a unique 10-minute training program. Cahill and von Grabow are attorneys in the Los Angeles offices of the […]

HR’s 5 Minutes with Attorney Can Save Thousands

HR managers can often save their companies thousands of dollars in litigation fees by spending just 5 minutes consulting with their attorneys, say Tracy L. Cahill and Veronica T. von Grabow. Sounds like a bargain. Cahill and von Grabow are attorneys in the Los Angeles offices of the law firm Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp LLP. […]

Senate Passes Another COBRA Subsidy Extension Bill

Last week, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that would further extend the federal COBRA subsidy created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 (H.R. 4213), which passed the Senate by a 62-36 vote, would extend the subsidy to individuals who were involuntarily terminated […]

Overtime Class Action Claims: The Second Wave?

By Sara Parchello Overtime class actions in Canada aren’t dead. If you thought that last year’s court decision refusing to certify the class action against one of Canada’s largest banks, CIBC, meant the death of such lawsuits in Canada, think again. These lawsuits — in which one or several employees act as a “representative plaintiff” […]

Monthly Bonuses for Employees Out on FMLA?

In yesterday’s Advisor, we tackled vexing FMLA questions on counting days and “critical roles” or “key employee” exceptions. Today, BLR’s editors take on more questions, and we introduce the FMLA “Bible.” Q. Are we required to approve FMLA leave for a father who would like to take up to 7 weeks to care for his […]

Hot List: The Library Journal’s Best Business Books of 2009, Part 2

In its 133rd year of publication, Library Journal is the oldest and most respected publication covering the library field, with review sections evaluating nearly 7000 books annually, along with hundreds of audiobooks, videos, databases, web sites, and systems that libraries buy.  Recently, Library Journal released its list of the 32 best business books of 2009, […]

A How-To List for Building a Culture of Respect

By Susan W. Kline Experienced HR professionals know that, generally speaking, an employee has no viable claim for sexual harassment unless her workplace has become “hellish.” Nonetheless, savvy employers will take action long before offensive behavior adds up to an actionable claim of sexual (or racial or religious) harassment. By focusing on inappropriate behavior and […]

Expressions of Faith in the Workplace

Q:I have a couple of employees who just started using religious expressions (e.g., “God bless” and “Your friend in God”) in their e-mails. Another employee is offended by the e-mails and wants me to make them stop. Any words of wisdom? A: In addition to prohibiting religious discrimination in the workplace, Title VII of the […]

Male-Male Sexual Harassment Claims on the Rise

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment charges by men have doubled since 1992, accounting for 16 percent of the 12,696 sexual harassment charges filed in the 2009 fiscal year. And while female-male sexual  harassment certainly makes up some portion of those claims, it’s evident that male-male harassment claims are also on […]